There are plenty of write-ups on life hacks out there, and just as many on baking hacks. The difference is that these ones actually work. So for all of you Martha Stewart wannabes, dorm room dwellers who get the hankering for something freshly baked or busy parents that survive on hacks because life is busy, this is for you.

The real purpose behind having Christmas baking in the house is not clear, as most women will spend the balance of the year complaining about the size of their own thighs and the expanding girth of their husband.

I began experimenting with some classic nutrient-packed ingredients and then did something I rarely do: I added a protein powder to the mix. The key was to make a fibre-rich, protein-rich and fat-rich recipe: the trifecta of a power snack. And so, I landed at a chocolate dipped, vanilla macaroon.

Hassel Aviles was a front-runner in the Toronto food boom when she concocted Toronto's inaugural foodie event Toronto Underground Market (TUM) alongside business partner Kate Clegg in 2011. But as the classic adage goes, all good things must come to an end and after three successful years, Hassel and Kate have decided to make their third year anniversary edition on September 27th their very last.

My new secret baking weapon is salt. It all began on my weekend get-away in Brooklyn, New York this past November. I was staying in Bushwick but ended up shopping along Bedford Ave. Naturally, I had to stop for soft-serve at Momofuku Milkbar.

Programmatic marketing -- the practice of anonymously serving ads to users based on their likes and interests -- is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the online marketing world. And though fretted over by some privacy advocates, these ads do deliver a net benefit to people.

Crack has made its way from Brooklyn to Canada over the years. Christina Tosi and the team at Momofuku are making sure an addictive namesake crosses the border, too -- and no authority is giving them a hard time. The Crack Pie, which is a sugar high, has become one of New York's most celebrated dessert items. It is among the habit-forming treats available at the newly opened Momofuku Milk Bar in Toronto.

I recently visited the Fancy Food Show and was struck by how many women are hanging up their business suits and high heels and putting on aprons and hairnets and entering the food business -- specifically baked goods and healthy meal options.

How would you feel if mall security cameras didn't simply monitoring you for stealing, but instead kept tabs on the specific brands, styles, colours and sizes of clothes you tried on, the magazines you leafed through at newsstands, what you ordered from the food court, and everything you actually bought during your visit?